Table of Contents
Advertisement
vertical axis, vehicle acceleration in the fore -
and-aft and lateral directions, the brake pres-
sure, and the steering angle are all measured .
The direction in which the driver wishes to
travel is determined with the aid of the steer-
ing angle and vehicle speed and is continually
compared with the actual behavior of the ve-
hicle. If the two do not match, for examp le,
when the vehicle starts hydroplaning on a wet
road, ESP will automatically brake the appro-
priate wheel to correct the problem.
The vehicle is then stabilized by the forces act-
ing on the whee l dur ing braking. If the vehicle
is
oversteering
(the vehicle turns too sharply
and the rear wheels sl ide toward the outs ide
of a curve), the brakes are main ly applied on
the wheel that is on the outside of the curve.
I n the case of a vehicle tha t is
understeering
(the vehicle does not turn sharply enough and
pushes out of a curve), the brakes are applied
as needed on the whee l that is on the inside of
the curve or additiona lly on the other wheels.
An acoust ic signal indicates when ESP brake
application cuts in
q
.&.
The system operates across the entire speed
range in combination with the ABS system
q
page 201.
If the Anti-Lock Brake System
(ABS) malfunctions, the ESP will be out of ac-
tion as well.
Activat ing
When you turn on the engine, ESP wi ll auto-
mat ically be activated and will perform a self-
test. As soon as the test is completed, the sys-
tem is in normal operating mode.
ESP Offro ad mode
The ESP Offroad mode was developed espe-
cially for offroad driving . In order to maintain
maximum tract ion and optima l braking when
driving offroad, the conditions for the ESP to
work are reduced to such a degree, that the
vehicle wheels could start to spin. The stabi-
liz ing effects start to wo rk late r which results
in lim ited vehicle stability.
The ESP Offroad mode should then be used
under the fo ll ow ing situations:
Int e llig e nt technolog
y
197
- rocking the vehicle when it is stuck
- driving in deep snow or on loose gro und
- driving on uneven roads with the wheel
heavily loaded (axle lim itation)
- driving w ith snow chains
- driving dow nhill while braking on loose
ground
For your safety, switch off the ESP offroad
mode in advance.
Switching on t he ESP Offroad mode
Press the
I~
OFFI
button
q
fig.
197 or
q
fig.
198 . The indicator light
11
ill um inates
and Offroad control Warning! Restricted sta-
bility appears in the driver information sys-
tem display.
Switching off th e ESP Offr oad mode
Press
I~ OFF !
button again to switch the ESP
back on. The indicator light
fl
goes out and
Stabilisation program on appears in the driv-
er information system display.
Dynamic steering*
Vehicles with dynam ic steering* ESP helps
stabilize the steer ing in critica l sit uatio ns.
A
WARNING
- The Electronic Stabilization Program is
nevertheless subject to the laws of phys-
ics. It is particularly important to pay at-
tention to this fact on wet and slippe ry
roads. It is therefore important that you
always adapt your dr iving to the cond i-
tion of the road and t raffic conditions. Do
not all ow t he increased safety provided
by t he Electronic Stabilization Program
system to lull you into accepting addi-
tional safety risks.
- You should switch on the ESP Offroad
mode on ly when you are driving offroad
or when driv ing with snow chains.
- Please note that the driving wheels can
spin and the vehicle can swerve when
ESP Offroad mode is switched on.
- Driving stability is reduced in the ESP
Offroad mode .
-
•
•
Advertisement
Table of Contents
